Like every significant Marvel superhero, Dr. Stephen Strange has a rogue’s gallery of regular opponents, villains he has been facing off against for decades. And while the Doctor Strange film has its fair share of bad guys (including a few who were hiding in plain sight), it turns out that they weren’t the original choice for the film.

Who are 15 of the smelliest comic book villains? How much did Doctor Strange make at the box office in its opening weekend? Which Marvel TV star wasn’t happy about Tilda Swinton‘s casting in Doctor Strange? Which actress does Gal Gadot want to be a love interest in Wonder Woman 2? Why did Doctor Strange wear a face mask for a short time in the original comic books? All that and more in this edition of Superhero Bits. Read More »

The cast of Doctor Strange features one Oscar winner (Tilda Swinton) and three Oscar nominees (Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor). It features two actors so good that they don’t need any stinkin’ Oscar nominations (Mads Mikkelsen and Michael Stuhlbarg). There’s also Scott Adkins, who would probably break an Oscar over his bicep if you asked him nicely. We can argue over whether or not the film utilizes all of these actors as well as it could, but it’s one of the more impressive line-ups of any superhero movie and a reflection of some serious good taste in actors.

However, there is one noteworthy name in the cast that you may have missed, mainly because her tiny role was essentially cut out of the movie entirely: Transparent star Amy Landecker.

Doctor Strange hit theaters this past weekend, and as is the case with any Marvel Studios movie, there were plenty of Easter eggs and references to the rest of the franchises and the comic books that inspired them. But there was one particular Easter egg that you definitely heard, but which may not have actually registered as an Easter egg, and it has to do with Captain Marvel.

In order to discuss this Easter egg, we have to talk about a scene that might be considered a minor spoiler by some, so we’re going to dive into the details about this Captain Marvel Easter egg in Doctor Strange after the jump. Read More »

It’s no surprise that Doctor Strange ends with text on the screen announcing that “Doctor Strange will return” as Kevin Feige and Benedict Cumberbatch have already confirmed that Steven Strange will join the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in Avengers: Infinity War. And if you’ve seen the Doctor Strange credits scenes, then you probably have some guesses as to how the Sorcerer Supreme will be involved in Marvel Studios’ epic crossover event film.

A couple of weeks back I talked with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige about Doctor Strange (you can read the first part of the interview here). I held back some more spoiler-y discussion for after the film’s opening weekend with Feige talking about how Doctor Strange will be involved in Infinity War and how the film sets up new dimensions to be explored in Infinity War and the yet-to-be-titled sequel Avengers 4. Hit the jump to see what Feige said about Doctor Strange in Infinity War and how the film might set up changes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a very charismatic performance in Scott Derrickson‘s Doctor Strange. Based on the response to the film and its opening weekend at the box-office, which exceeded projections, it’s fair to say audiences have taken quite a liking to Cumberbatch’s performance as surgeon-turned-sorcerer Stephen Strange. The titular character, however, isn’t the only role he plays in Marvel’s latest.

Marvel’s Doctor Strange is now in theaters, marking the 14th film in the Marvel cinematic universe, and the first in a hopeful new franchise for the comic book movie studio. With the title character, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, already confirmed to make a return in The Avengers: Infinity War, it’s safe to assume that we’re going see more of the superhero. But will fans want that?

Doctor Strange is on par to make at least $75 million this weekend, maybe as much as $85 million, but does Marvel’s new franchise deliver the goods? The answer is yes, but it still has some shortcomings that keep it from being truly great. The good news is that it lays the groundwork for a promising new character in the Marvel cinematic universe, accompanied by some mesmerizing visuals and action.

After the jump, read our thoughts on Doctor Strange and sound off in the comments with your own, but beware of MAJOR SPOILERS from here on out. You’ve been warned! Read More »

How much money do all the DC TV series pull in as revenue for Time Warner? Who is composing the score for Wonder Woman? How much did Doctor Strange rake in from Thursday night preview screenings? Who could the villains in Wonder Woman be? What does The Flash star Kiersey Clemons have to say about losing another director? All that and more in this edition of Superhero Bits. Read More »

2016 is a good year for screenwriter Jon Spaihts. After years of development, Spaihts’ first hot spec script, Passengers, finally got made and is coming to theaters before the year ends. On top of that, he co-wrote Marvel’s latest, Doctor Strange, with director Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill.

The origin story shows Stephen Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) transformation from an arrogant, selfish surgeon to a powerful, compassionate sorcerer. Spaihts worked on the Doctor Strange script before Derrickson and Cargill conducted rewrites, but he was the first writer to board the project to help Derrickson and MarvelKevin Feige figure out how to best tell Stephen Strange’s trippy tale.

We recently spoke with Spaihts to discuss the challenges of writing an origin story, comic book conventions, his writing process, and more. Below, read our Jon Spaihts interview.

There is almost no better interview in Hollywood than Marvel Studios’ head Kevin Feige. He’s the mastermind over the Marvel Cinematic Universe and always has the best responses, even if he sometimes slyly avoids giving a direct answer. I think only Damon Lindelof did this kind of interview better when he was showrunner of Lost.

I’ve always been very curious about the Marvel development process — the way a Marvel movie is put together as it seems so different from traditional movie-making. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is plotted over five years in advance, and each standalone film needs to fit into the larger progression of the story. At what point did Marvel even begin thinking of a Doctor Strange movie? How does a director pitch to get the job? At what point does someone like Dan Harmon become involved in the project?

Doctor Strange also introduces the idea of time manipulation to the MCU (Strange has a variety of otherworldly abilities in the comics, this being one of them). So the time travel paradox-obsessed part of me had to ask about the potential problems this might pose for the future of the MCU. All this and more, after the jump.